Lock washer



Patented Aug. 30, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlca CARL G. OLSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A SSIGNOB TO SHAKYEPROOF LOCK WASHER COM'- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION F DELAWARE LOCK WASHER application aies March 25, 1931. l semi 1ro. 525,093.

My invention relates generally to lock washers and more particularly to lock washers of the type formed with prongs along vthe margin thereof.

It is one of the primary objects oit' my invention to provide a lock washer ot the pronged type, which is adapted to secure nuts and the like against retrograde movement in a ver effective manner.

More speci cally, my invention contemplates the production of a washer, in which the prongs thereof are-equipped with sharp work engaging edges adapted to readily imbed themselves within a work piece when clamped thereagainst, and to this end I proposeto provide prongs of such a cross-sectional shape that acute work engaging edges will be positioned out of the plane of the washer body to lockingly engagethe work` piece.

Still more specifically, it is an object of my invention to provi e a lock washer, as above set forth, having prongs of substantially diamond-shaped cross-section, whereby to present relativel sharp working engaging edges when sai prongs are warped out of the plane of the washer body.

Another object of my invention is to provide a lock washer having prongs which are so shaped and warped out of the plane of the washer body that each prong provides oppositely disposed acute 'work engagin edges which lie in planes spaced from an substantiall parallel with the plane of the washer stoc.

A still further object is to provide a washer which is shaped and warped as above set forth so that the inclination of successive diagonals will increase from the root to the outer end of theprong, whereby to present increased strutting action at the outer end of said prong.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of a washer formed lfrom flat. sprin stock having a plurality of spaced marginal prongs, each of. said prongs being tapered and having oppositely disposed acute work engaging e ges, said edges being deected out ofthe plane of the washer stock,

5 so that the inclination of the diagonal at the outer end of the prong extending between said work engaging edges with respect to the external prongs constructed in accordance with the teachings of my'invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational viewof the washer of Figure l;

lFigure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the prongs of the washer shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4; is a fragmentary view of a washer having internal prongs constructed similarlyvto the prongs shown in Figures l to 3 inclusive;

Figure 5 is a semi-diagrammatic end view of a prong, said lview taken substantially along the line 5--5 of Figure 1 to more clearly illustrate the manner in which the prong is progressively warped-or twisted out of the plane of the washer body;

Figure 6 is a semi-diagrammatic view similar to Figure 5 illustrating the manner lin which the progressively warp'd or twisted teeth lockingly engage the work; and- Figure 7 is an end View of one of the prongs prior'to the warping thereof.

Referring now to the drawing more in detail wherein like numerals have been ein` ployed to designate similar parts throughout the various figures, it will be seen that the disclosed embodiment of my invention includes an annular washer body 10 stamped or otherwise formed from fiat spring stock. Thebody 10 has a plurality of substantially radial prongs 12 spaced lalong one of the margins thereof. In Figures 1,2, and 3 I have shownv said prongs formed along the external margin, while in Figure 4 I have shown the same along the internal margin of the body. It will be seen that each of the prongs 12 is oftaperedform and is warped or twisted out of the plane of the body 10" so that the 1 y(included between converging sides of each prong is an acute angle. In fact, this acute angle A may be formed previous to the warping of the prongs, as clearly shown in Figure 7, wherein I have disclosed an enlarged end view of a prong before it is subjected to a progressive warp or twist so as to position the work engagin edges 14 out of the plane of the washer bo y. By having this acute angularity, a very sharp work engagin edge is provided which serves to material y increase the locking eii'ectiveness of the prong when a work piece is clamped thereagainst.

It will also be seen that the prongs v12 are progressively warped or twisted out of the plane of the washer body from the root to the outer end of the prong, kso that the'strutting action of the outer end of the prong when clamped within the work is materially increased. This will be readilyv apparent from Figures 5 and 6, wherein I have disclosed for purposes of illustration a plurality of successive parallelograms which' represent the cross-sectional shape of the prong taken at various points from the root to the outer end thereof. The inclination of the diagonal at the outer end of the prong with respect to the washer body, as shown by the dot-anddash lines in Figures 5 and 6, is greater than the inclination of the diagonal extendin across the .corners at the root of sai pron In other words, my Ainvention contemp ates the provision of a washer prong having o positely disposed acite work enaging e ges in which the angularity of the iagonals extending across said prtiig with respect to the plane of the washer b y prol gressively increases from the root to the outer end of the prong. This arrangement is somewhat similar to the progressive warping disclosed in my Patent 1,782,387, but my present invention provides a material increase in locking effectiveness by having the prong of diamond-shaped cross-section.

In Figure 6 I have shown the e'ect of a clamping force' exerted against the edges14,

- and it will be seen that by having the increased struttingaction at the outer end of the rong, said prong is capable of withstan ing increased clamping forces without becoming fiattened. It should also be noted that the edges 14 are deflected out lof the lane of the washer body a distance which is ess than the thickness of the washer stock so as to provide increased rigidity and strength.

Washers of my improved diamond-shaped cross-section may be made by practicing the method disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 524,453, filed of even date herewith. By practicin this method, the prongs may be initially ormed as shown in igure 7, and subsequently war ed out of the plane of the body portion. t-shouldbe understood thatin using the terms warped, twisted, and the like,'I do not wish to limit myself to the particular helically twisted arrangement shown in the drawing, but contemplate any prong construction, in which the work engaging edges are acutely formed, and the prong or any portion thereof is warped so as to present these acute edges in substantial parallelism out of the plane of the washer bod My improved washer need not be stampe from flat stock, but may be formed in other ways, as for example, from serrated strip stock.

Obviously the invention is not limited to the specific shape and disposition of the pron 's shown in the drawing, but is capable of ot er modifications and changes without departin from the spirit and scope of the appende claims. For the purpose of more clearly disclosing the structural features of my improved prong construction, I have somewhat exaggerated the acuteness of the work engagiig edges. That is to say, the acuteness of e angles A has been slightly exa gerated.

aving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A lock washer formed from flat spring stock includin an annular body ortion, and a plurality o prongs positioned) along and extending from at least one of the margins thereof, said prongs having oppositely disposed acute work engaging edges positioned in planes spaced from and substantially parallel with the plane of the washer body :(lid also having oppositely disposed obtuse ges- 2. A lock washer of flat springl stock having a body portion, and a plurality of locking prongs extending therefrom, the root of each prong being wider `than the opposite end thereof, said prongs bein warped out of the .plane of the washer stoc so as to present a plurality of oppositely disposed acute work engaging edges on opposite sides of the plane of the washer body, the diagonal extending between the opposite outwardly rojecting corners atthe root of each prong osed at a less angle to the plane of the washer ody than. the. iagonal extending between the `corners at the opposite end thereof, wherebyvto increase the strutting effectiveness of -saido posits end. h r

3.' lock washer'of flat spring stock having a bod portion, anda plurality of locking prongs vo 'diamond-shaped cross-section -exing distending therefrom, the root of ech prong be-A ing wi er than the opposite end thereof, said prongs being` warped out of the planer of the washer stock so as to present a, lplurality of oppositely disposed acute wor engaging edges on opposite sides of the lane of the l Washer body, the diavonal exten 'ng between the opposite outwardly projecting corners at the root of each prong being disposed at a less angle to the plane of the washer body than the diagonal extending between the corners at the opposite end thereof.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

' 15 v CARL- G. OLSON. 

